7 OCTOBER 1893, Page 26

A Deformed Idol. By J. 3. Moran. (Digby, Long, and

Co.)— That a man should make love to a woman, and finally propose to her, and then, and not till then, discover she was a paralysed cripple, is unlikely. It is one of those improbabilities that no amount of literary skill can carry off, and the most ignorant novelist ought to know it. Mr. Moran can write, though he says a great many silly things, and hardly pays attention to some of the circumstances of our daily life. What sort of tennis, we may ask, is this P—" A very lively game was in progress, in which Tom, Polly, the Miss Ashtons, their ]ate escorts, and a few others, were hotly engaged." A very lively game, indeed! These may be trifles ; but readers will remark them. The story, a romantic one, ends happily, and is fairly readable.